miracle: n. An event that seems impossible to explain by natural laws and so is regarded as an act of God

Monday, March 10, 2008

And Now, The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

Okay, I am unable to follow through with a time commitment of any kind. Now that we have established this, be prepared to wait an extra few days whenever I say a post is coming soon :)

The last week (month actually) of our crazy life has been...well, crazy. The boys have started going to school 3 mornings a week and you'd think an additional morning without kiddos would lead to greater productivity for me. This has not proven to be so. I am perpetually trying to catch up on all things neglected (everything organizational), stay on top of all things necessary for daily survival (you know, like feeding this brood and making sure they have clean underwear), and I have been attempting to carve out some me time for my own physical and mental well being (I have actually managed to get to the gym more times this month than I have in the last year). Throw in our usual geriatric dog care, sick kids every other minute, traveling Daddy, dentist appointments, doctor appointments, veterinary appointments, travel plans, garden planning (because it is almost Spring and I am anxious to get outside in the dirt - we have a delusional plan for growing much of our food this year) and this is the tip of our iceberg. Of course, I cannot imagine anything else so I want to clarify that this is not really complaining so much as assessing the chaos and pondering how to manage our (okay, my) time more efficiently.

Cs eczema (which I have not yet written about in detail but has been an ongoing struggle for him) is getting bad again. Unfortunately, his face has it the worst this time and has become a source of embarrassment and shame for him. 4 years old is not a time when being different is okay and he has said a few things that lead me to believe he may be getting left out of playground games at school. His own brothers have told him that he cannot play with them because they do not want to catch his "itchies" ( a conversation I overheard a couple of weeks ago that broke my heart). I've spoken with H and B both about Cs eczema, explaining that it is not contagious but is something that C has to live with just as H has asthma. We've talked about how he (C) must feel when his brothers and/or friends are unkind to him, when he is being left out and we have talked about how they (as brothers) need to always stick together, to take care of one another. How much of this they take to heart I do not know. I knew this day would come when one of our boys would be faced with a hurt that we could not protect him from. I did not expect it so soon and my heart is in no way prepared for the pain of watching it happen. Not sure where I am going with this - I am still coming to terms with it and looking for a way to address it sensitively with C.

H has had a weird stomach virus that had him puking for half a day (and he is usually at least a 24 hour puker) and then just lethargic and not eating - but no longer throwing up. He has not had a legitimate meal in 5 days and he is not a picky eater. I finally took him in this morning and the pediatrician said she's seeing a lot of this right now. She checked him out and feels he is probably just nauseated still - poor kid. We're hoping his appetite will return soon. He has already been surpassed in height and weight by his brothers...he needs all the nutrients his little body can get. And I need him to go back to school. Though in all honesty, it's been kind of neat to spend a little time alone with him as he convalesces.

B is full of imagination - telling stories and creating pretend scenarios for his brothers all day long. Well, most of the day - the rest of the time he is firing off questions at me about every possible thing imaginable. This child makes my brain hurt! I am thrilled at his inquisitive nature - it is much like my own. But his need to understand everything in the universe coupled with his inability to look it up and find answers for himself are wearing me down. "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer either. We must look for the answer - at the library or on the Internet (which, by the way is so crazy that my 4 year old knows that this is a way we can use computers - I don't think I knew which end was up at 4 years old) and then discuss it - ad nauseum - for days on end. I've never been interrogated, but I am beginning to see how it might make a person crack up after long enough.

On a group note, the boys started soccer last week. This is the funniest thing I have ever witnessed. Really. 15 four year olds "practicing" (code word for free for all) is comic relief for me as I am on the sidelines watching some poor innocent soul's (their very patient coach) attempt at "herding cats" (this is how Kelly refers to efforts at any organized drill with preschoolers). As twisted as it is, I revel in seeing other adults experience a slice of my daily life while I relax and do absolutely nothing to even hint at helping manage the chaos. If only I had a cold beer in my hand it would be perfect. Since their soccer league is through the church, I am thinking that beer at 4 year old soccer practice/games may be frowned upon. Too bad.

And this will have to do for an update as I can hear the little hooligans getting a little too crazy in the next room. I will try (and we have already established this means nothing) to post some pictures, at the very least, before the end of the week. I have several good ones on the camera that I will happily download if I can ever again find the cable to connect it to the computer...

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People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.